Message Ring in a Switching Network

1. A switching network for receiving and transmitting data packets having both frames which consist of relatively long strings of bytes and messages which consist of small entities of bytes comprising: a plurality of data ports, wherein: each of the plurality of data ports can be an input port for sending the frames and the messages, and each of the plurality of data ports can be an output port for receiving the frames and the messages; a message ring comprising one or more components successively interconnecting one data port to an adjacent data port for passing the messages from an input port, successively through a plurality of intermediate ports to a destination output port; and a crossbar for connecting the plurality of data ports for switching the frames from an input port to an output port; wherein the frames and messages are processed concurrently, wherein the messages do not pass through the crossbar.

2. The switching network as in claim 1 further comprising a parser configured to separate the frames from the messages to form two separate data streams.

3. The switching network as in claim 2 wherein the parser further comprises a frame queue and a message queue.

4. The switching network as in claim 3 wherein the messages are given a message ring destination identifier.

5. The switching network of claim 1 wherein the message ring further comprises a clock configured to move the messages from one data port to another data port for every clock pulse.

6. The switching network of claim 1 wherein the message ring further comprises a ring controller.

7. The switching network of claim 6 further comprising a gate associated with each of the plurality of data ports configured to allow a message into a data port only if no other data is present in said data port.

8. The switching network of claim 7 wherein the ring controller manages the gate.

9. The switching network of claim 1 wherein the frames comprise 40 to 64 bytes.

10. The switching network of claim 1 wherein the messages comprise 4, 8, or 12 bytes.

11. A switching network for receiving and transmitting data packets having both frames which consist of relatively long strings of bytes and messages which consist of small entities of bytes, comprising: a plurality of switch elements, where each switch element comprises: a plurality of data ports, wherein: each of the plurality of data ports can be an input port for sending the frames and the messages, and each of the plurality of data ports can be an output port for receiving the frames and the messages; a message ring comprising one or more components successively interconnecting one data port to an adjacent data port for passing the messages from an input port, successively through a plurality of intermediate ports to a destination output port; and a crossbar for connecting the plurality of data ports for switching the frames from an input port to an output port, wherein the frames and messages are processed concurrently, wherein the messages do not pass through the crossbar.

12. The switching network as in claim 11 wherein each switch element further comprises a parser configured to separate the frames from the messages to form two separate data streams.

13. The switching network as in claim 12 wherein the parser further comprises a frame queue and a message queue.

14. The switching network as in claim 13 wherein the messages are given a message ring destination identifier.

15. The switching network of claim 11 wherein the message ring further comprises a clock configured to move the messages from one data port to another data port for every clock pulse.

16. The switching network of claim 11 wherein the message ring further comprises a ring controller.

17. The switching network of claim 16 wherein each switch element further comprises a gate associated with each of the plurality of data ports for allowing a message into a data port only if no other data is present in said data port.

18. The switching network of claim 17 wherein the ring controller manages the gate.

19. The switching network of claim 11 wherein the frames comprise 40 to 64 bytes.

20. The switching network of claim 11 wherein the messages comprise 4, 8, or 12 bytes.

21. A switching network for processing data, comprising: a crossbar switch configured to process frames; a message ring comprising a controller and a plurality of data ports which are interconnected with each other, the message ring configured to process messages; and a parser configured to forward the messages to the message ring and to forward the frames to the crossbar, wherein the messages are not forwarded to the crossbar switch.

22. The switching network of claim 21 , wherein the frames and messages are processed concurrently.

23. The switching network of claim 21 wherein the parser is configured to identify which portion of the data is a frame or a message.

24. The switching network of claim 23 wherein the parser is configured to separate the identified frames or the identified messages from the data.

25. The switching network as in claim 24 wherein the parser comprises a frame queue and a message queue and is configured to insert the frame to a frame queue and the message to the message queue.

26. The switching network as in claim 23 wherein the messages are given a message ring destination identifier.

27. The switching network of claim 21 , wherein the message ring further comprises a clock employed to move the messages from one data port to another data port at a specified clock frequency.

28. A method performed by a data switching apparatus, comprising: receiving a data packet; determining whether the data packet is a message or a frame; if the data packet is a frame, causing a crossbar switch to handle the frame; and if the data packet is a message, causing the message to traverse one or more ports coupled to a message ring and not the crossbar switch.

29. The method of claim 28 further comprising placing the message in a message-in queue if the data packet is a message.

30. The method of claim 28 further comprising placing the message in a message-out queue after the message reaches a destination port.

31. A system, comprising: means for receiving a data packet; and means for determining whether the data packet is a message or a frame; causing a crossbar switch to handle the frame if the data packet is a frame; and causing the message to traverse one or more ports coupled to a message ring and not the crossbar switch if the data packet is a message.

32. The system of claim 31 further comprising means for placing the message in a message-in queue if the data packet is a message.

33. The system of claim 31 further comprising means for placing the message in a message-out queue after the message reaches a destination port.

34. A processor-readable memory storing instructions, when executed cause a data switching apparatus to take an action, the instructions comprising: instructions for receiving a data packet; instructions for determining whether the data packet is a message or a frame; if the data packet is a frame, causing a crossbar switch to handle the frame; and if the data packet is a message, causing the message to traverse one or more ports coupled to a message ring and not the crossbar switch.

35. The processor-readable memory of claim 34 further comprising instructions for placing the message in a message-in queue if the data packet is a message.

36. The processor-readable memory of claim 34 further comprising instructions for placing the message in a message-out queue after the message reaches a destination port.